scholarly journals Technical and Practical Valuation of Hydrokinetic Turbine Integration into Existing Canal Infrastructure in South Africa: A Case Study

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 595
Author(s):  
Chantel Niebuhr ◽  
Marco van Dijk ◽  
Jay Bhagwan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
System Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Irrigation Canal ◽  
Hydrokinetic Turbine ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
Correct Application

Small-scale hydrokinetic (HK) energy systems is a renewable energy source which has never before been explored in South Africa, mainly due to the abundance of low-cost coal-powered electricity. A HK pilot project was implemented in an applicable section on the Boegoeberg irrigation canal in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa and tested for optimum functionality and correct application. This paper describes the HK system development and evaluates the technical viability and resilience of the system. Furthermore, the sustainability of such an installation into existing infrastructure in a developing country is analyzed.

scholarly journals Development of a design and implementation process for the integration of hydrokinetic devices into existing infrastructure in South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3 July) ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Niebuhr ◽  
M Van Dijk ◽  
JN Bhagwan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Irrigation Canal ◽  
Water Infrastructure ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Modular Units

In South Africa there is currently no notable use of modern small-scale hydrokinetic (HK) energy systems, mainly due to formerly low-cost coal-powered electricity. This renewable energy option makes use of the kinetic energy from flowing water, rather than potential energy, which is more often used in conventional hydropower. Updated refined versions of this technology are now being investigated and manufactured due to the global drive towards reducing carbon emissions and increasing energy efficiency. These modular units allow for installation of HK turbines into existing water infrastructure with very little civil works. The study’s objective was to develop a simplified design and implementation process for HK devices within the South African legislative and regulatory environment. Approximately 66% of South Africa’s water supply is used by the agricultural sector with more than 6 500 km of canal systems running through many areas which could benefit from alternative energy sources. The recent electricity crisis in the country allowed for problem resolution through funding opportunities and thereby an introduction of an innovative and sustainable technology to provide renewable electricity where otherwise not feasible. A pilot HK project was implemented in an applicable section on the Boegoeberg irrigation canal in the Northern Cape Province and tested for optimum functionality and correct application. This process allowed evolution of a development process for the implementation of HK devices in existing water infrastructure.

MECHANIZATION OF POTATO GRADING ON SMALL-SCALE FARMS: A CASE STUDY FROM PERU

2005 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. BUTLER ◽  
T. BERNET ◽  
K. MANRIQUE
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Critical Aspect ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Important Cash Crop

Potatoes are an important cash crop for small-scale producers worldwide. The move away from subsistence to commercialized farming, combined with the rapid growth in demand for processed agricultural products in developing countries, implies that small-scale farmers and researchers alike must begin to respond to these market changes and consider post-harvest treatment as a critical aspect of the potato farming system. This paper presents and assesses a low cost potato-grading machine that was designed explicitly to enable small-scale potato growers to sort tubers by size for supply to commercial processors. The results of ten experiments reveal that the machine achieves an accuracy of sort similar to commercially available graders. The machine, which uses parallel conical rollers, has the capacity to grade different tuber shapes and to adjust sorting classes, making it suitable for locations with high potato diversity. Its relatively low cost suggests that an improved and adapted version of this machine might enhance market integration of small-scale potato producers not only in Peru, but in other developing countries as well.

scholarly journals Empowerment and Tech Adoption: Introducing the Treadle Pump Triggers Farmers’ Innovation in Eastern Ethiopia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimelis Beyene ◽  
Teshome Regassa ◽  
Belaineh Legesse ◽  
Martha Mamo ◽  
Tsegaye Tadesse
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Labor Demand ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
External Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eastern Ethiopia ◽  
Well Drilling ◽  
Community Ownership ◽  
Technology Introduction

In 2013, thirty-eight treadle pumps (TPs) were installed as low-cost technology introduction for small-scale irrigation in eastern Ethiopia. The pilot project also included training of selected farmers on well excavation, installation and maintenance of pumps. In June 2015, researchers visited nine of the 38 TP sites, and found only two functional TPs. The rest were replaced with a new technology. Farmers who adopted the new technology stated that the limited water output and high labor demand of the conventional TP did not optimally fulfil their irrigation water requirements. The new hybrid technologies have spread quickly to more than one hundred households due to three key factors. First, farmers’ innovative modifications of the initial excavation technique addressed the discharge limitations of the conventional TP by excavating boreholes with wider diameter. Second, community ownership of the new technology, including local skills used in well drilling and fabricating excavation implement, made the new irrigation technology affordable and accessible to a higher number of households, leading to faster diffusion of the technology. Third, this innovation has spread organically without any external support. Adoption of the new technology enabled some farmers to accumulate enough resources to diversify their livelihoods into non-farm activities.

scholarly journals Introducing the IDEF0 Methodology in the Strategic Planning of Projects for Reclamation and Repurposing of Surface Mines

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Philip-Mark Spanidis ◽  
Francis Pavloudakis ◽  
Christos Roumpos
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
System Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Development Tool ◽  
Lignite Mine ◽  
Research Questions

The closure of surface mines is a complex framework characterized by extended reclamations of post-mining sites towards an environmentally friendly and sustainable land-use system development with beneficial returns to society and the economy. The paper demonstrates the critical mine closure problem, draws research questions, and introduces the IDEF0 (Integrated DEFinition Function) process modelling method as a low-cost and easy development tool for use by mining experts to perform strategic planning of sustainable mine reclamation and repurposing projects. A case study for the method applied in a Greek lignite mine is presented.

‘HUNTERS-WITH-SHEEP’: THE |XAM BUSHMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA BETWEEN PASTORALISM AND FORAGING

Africa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark McGranaghan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Hunting And Gathering ◽  
Northern Cape

ABSTRACTThe ability of hunting and gathering populations to adopt herding forms of subsistence constitutes the crux of a long-standing debate in southern African archaeological and anthropological scholarship concerning the spread of livestock to the subcontinent. This article takes as a detailed case study the subsistence strategies of the nineteenth-century ǀXam Bushmen of the Northern Cape (South Africa), extracted from a transcription of the entirety of the Bleek–Lloyd Archive. It focuses on ǀXam characterization of and relationships with the various domesticated species that shared their Karoo landscape, and asks whether these relationships differ markedly from their conceptions of non-domesticated animals. Turning to the wider context of hunter-gatherer engagements with domesticates, the article concludes by proposing that, for the ǀXam, domesticated fauna were part of a spectrum of differentiated resources, and did not entail an interaction with a wholly alien suite of new demands.

scholarly journals Systematic conservation planning: a review of perceived limitations and an illustration of the benefits, using a case study from Maputaland, South Africa

Oryx ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Smith ◽  
Peter S. Goodman ◽  
Wayne S. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Conservation Assessment ◽  
Game Ranching ◽  
Setting Process

Systematic conservation planning is widely considered the most effective approach for designing protected area and other ecological networks. However, many conservation practitioners still ignore these methods and we suggest that five perceived limitations of this process are affecting its uptake. These perceptions are that (1) systematic conservation planning software is difficult to use, (2) the process requires extensive biodiversity distribution data, (3) setting targets for representing conservation features is not possible, (4) the advantages of systematic conservation planning do not outweigh the costs, and (5) the resulting plans often identify unsuitable areas. Here we review these perceived limitations and argue they are all misplaced, although we recognize difficulties in the target setting process. We then illustrate the value of systematic conservation planning to practitioners using a case study that describes a low-cost exercise from Maputaland, South Africa. This preliminary conservation assessment measured the effectiveness of the existing reserve system and identified a number of candidate areas that could be the focus of community- or privately-run ecotourism or game ranching ventures. Our results also emphasize both the importance of producing planning outputs that are specifically targeted for stakeholders, and the role of systematic conservation planning in providing a framework for integrating different provincial, national and transnational conservation initiatives.

SMALL SCALE PILOT PROJECT AS A TOOL FOR PLANNING LARGE SCALE RESTORATION

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 1163-1169
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Craig ◽  
Tom Pride
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oyster Reef ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Oyster Restoration

ABSTRACT The use of pilot studies can be a useful tool in determining the most appropriate location, method and design for a large scale restoration project. This paper provides a case study where Trustees implemented a small pilot project and feasibility study to determine the best approach for a large scale oyster reef creation project. While the specific case study is the result of a CERCLA settlement (Alafia River Acid Spill of 1997), this model is transferable to other instances where Trustees are scoping for the most appropriate sites and methods to conduct settlement funded restoration. The Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment on which the case settlement was based called for creation of approximately 4 acres of oyster reef in addition to 4 acres of estuarine marsh restoration. Through an initial scoping process, the Trustees determined that more information was needed to select the most appropriate locations and techniques to implement the large scale oyster restoration project. The Trustees identified 3 general locations with potential for larger scale oyster reef creation. A portion of settlement funding was used to contract for construction and monitoring of an oyster reef pilot project to examine the efficacy of oyster reef construction at the three locations using 4 different cultch materials. At each of the locations, 4 small reefs (approximately 75’ × 20’) were constructed and monitored for spat set, oyster survival and growth as well as subsidence. A baseline construction report and final monitoring report detailed the results. In addition, a separate report was completed that outlined the feasibility of constructing a 4 acre oyster reef in Hillsborough Bay, FL. This report included several construction considerations such as local sources and costs of cultch materials, shipping/transport, staging areas, construction equipment as well as potential local contractors. This paper reports the results of the oyster pilot project and feasibility report as well as lessons learned from each approach.

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